Impressions of Columbia

Things in Columbia, South Carolina were a little different than Minnesota.  Instead of bumper stickers that say, "Go Vikings!"  or "Go Twins!" the bumper stickers read, "Go Cocks!"  At first I thought I read it wrong but no, the bumper stickers, flags and tshirts say Cocks.  The University of South Carolina mascot is the "Gamecock."  Evidently a military leader from South Carolina during the revolutionary war was not only short but full of fierce fighting moves and that is where the gamecock moniker came from.  Many of the houses in Columbia were made of brick and they had lots of large verandas.  I like verandas.  The hills were gently rolling and the creeks were scenic.  We found frogs in the creek that were larger than my entire hand but they moved so quickly we couldn't get a photo or a good look at them.  We didn't see any snakes but we did see a salamander.  We saw one deer on our travels.  We saw some art downtown including a very large fire hydrant.  At the bottom of the hydrant, just above the three red diagonal lines is a little sign with the outline of a dog with a line through it.  The stop lights were sometimes different and sometimes the same.  Most of them had 3 lights; one red, one yellow and one green.  But some of them had 5 lights.  I'd pull up to a stop light, notice the five options, and wonder what the heck?  I think there was one red light, two yellow lights (one straight and one for left turns) and two green lights (one for straight and one for left turns).  But I'm really not sure about that because I'd immediately start to drive away when the lights turned before I could study them.  People in Columbia had a definite southern drawl and I was told several times that I talked funny.  We heard "ya'll" quite often and even started using it ourselves.  We stopped at a Waffle House for lunch one day and I had grits.  They're really not so bad when you mix then with poached eggs as I did but even so I ate only half of the grits.  One evening we had take-out pizza.  On the menu was "congealed salad."  I had to ask what congealed salad was.  Turns out it's jello with fruit bits mixed in it.  Doesn't jello salad sound more appetizing than congealed salad?  Another difference between Minnesota and South Carolina were the cicadas.  When it gets hot we have insects that buzz loudly.  But South Carolina bugs buzz louder and in a more metallic sound.  When we passed some insects in a grassy island between the lanes I seriously thought my brakes were squeaking.   All in all, Columbia is a very nice town.  I believe Fort Jackson is the largest employer and the main economic factor.  Could I relocate to Columbia some day?  I think it's a definite possibility.